The comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there

Routine builds character

This introduction is a contradiction to the headline and what I am going to communicate in the body of this piece, but it is true “routine builds character”.

Before going “pro” I had to master routine, I knew what I had to do each day to classify myself as a profession PR consultant, a writer and a runner in my personal life, I had to map out a routine that made time for each of these three activities, my part was to avail myself and put in effort whenever the time to practise each craft came.

This thought me discipline and ultimately led me to master routine which eventually helped me take part in these activities without putting too much thought into them because they were somewhat ingrained in my system.

This was extremely beneficial but particularly to those domains of expertise, it wasn’t until I had to urgently do something outside of my domain of expertise did I realise, how rigid and tied in routine I was, if I didn’t get my cup of coffee before sitting down to write, the entire process would be impacted negatively, not because of the benefits and super creative powers that I got from the caffeine, this simply happened because my routine had been compromised.

Because the world needs us to be fluid in our nature, not neglecting our areas of expertise but to be open to what the what the worlds presents and being equally flexible enough to move according to its demands.

Discomfort shapes us,

In life we all soon learn as much as we desire comfort and luxury, these aren’t the things that shape us, in life its It’s the hard knocks, the discomforts and challenges, that shape us.

To become the best versions of ourselves we must take on new experiences because they release dopamine in our brains and create new neurons and natural connections. The more challenging the experience the better.

I had to remind myself of some of the most challenging obstacles I’ve faced in life and how those have shaped me to become the work in progress I am today, before being able to run over 21KM’s at one go I first forced myself to try and complete 5KM’s that was my objective, I was only able to stretch my ability by pushing beyond the point I was currently comfortable with, its easy with running or a physical challenge because you can measure it.

In life however the challenges are different and they spring up on us and we aren’t always ready but our past experiences make us ready, so find something that is challenging and noble to you and work towards becoming good at it until you get to a point that satisfies you and move onto the next thing.

Master of some, student of all

I’ve had to adopt this philosophy to keep my curious brain stimulated and to have some sanity. I am very curious and there is very little about the world and particularly people I don’t wish to understand, because my interests are so vast in order to make a living I had to carve out an area of expertise where I would devote my life and skills to but that does not for a second cancel out all my other interests.

The decision is and was simple, to live a full life I would always stray away from my comfort zone, working more towards being a polymath than an expert at one craft. I’ve separated my life as a consultant and writer even though they intertwine simply because I am more advanced in one trade than the other and to keep my mind childlike, I had to accept that I am professional in one domain and a student in another, which means one gives me room to explore, learn, make mistakes and have fun and the other requires me to deliver — this is my path to mastering some and learning all.